Method of making pressed-steel vehicle wheels



D. H. BELLAMORE AND T. l. S; BOAK.

METHOD OF MAKING PRESSED sTEEL VEHICLE WHEELS.

APPLICA LON FILED SEP -15,1919.

Patented July 25, 1922 2 SHEETS SHEET L.

D. H. BELLAMORE AND T. I. S. B OAK.

METHOD OF MAKING PRESSED STEEL VEHIC LE WHEELS. APPLHfATION FILED SEPT. 15.1919.

1,423,747, Patented July 25, 1922.

2 SHEETS--SHEET 2.

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Davin H. BELLAmoRa'Or NEW YORK. N. Y., AND THOMAS I. s. IBOAK, or EAST ORANGE. NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNORS. BY DIRECT A.ND MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0 STEEL WHEEL CORPORATION, A CORPORATION or NEW YORK.

METHOD OF MAKING PRESSED-STEEL VEHICLE WHEELS.

Application filed September 15, 1919.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we. DAVID H. BELLA- MORE, a subject of the King of Great Britain. residinr in the city of New York, borough of lianhattan. county and State of New York. and THOMAS I. S. BOAR, a citizen of the United States. residing at East Orange. county of Essex. and State of New Jersey. have invented a certain new and useful Method of Making Pressed-Steel Vehicle \Vheels. of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to the art of making disc wheels which are more particularly used with self-propelled vehicles. although manifestly the method of this invention. as well as the resulting product. is adapted for employment in other environments than that specified.

As disc wheels are usually made they are stamped up cold from mild steel such, for example. as ordinary boiler plate. This steel is formed into blanks withoutany heat treatment whatsoever and immediately subjected to the action of dies while in the cold condition. The, material is worked cold through. and the manufacturer depends for the strength of the resulting wheel upon the relatively heavy gage material, since the qualities of the steel employed is such that it is naturall soft and malleable. This procedure is t e one carried out in all disc wheels as now manufactured, and as a result of the these operations, the product is a wheel of considerable weight. Moreover, the characteristics ofthe material are such that it cannot be worked cold beyond certain well defined limits, and as a result, the wheels thus faremployed have been of most simple conventional form, much-less easy riding and aesthetic. than a wooden wheel and far heavier. 1

With the foregoing considerations in mind, the object of the present invention is to provide a method of making disc wheels which will result in an article of much less weight than disc wheels as -heretofore employed, but which will nevertheless, possess strength equal to or greater than the prior wheels. 'With this object in view, the invention contemplates the manipulation of an alloy steel plate of minimum thickness, heat treated from time to time during the Specification of Letters Patent. i

Patented July 25, 1922.

Serial no. 323,836.

consecutive operations of its manipulation to render it ductile and finally give a final heat treatment for the purpose of rendering it hard and resilient.

- A. further disadvantage of disc wheels as now constructed is inherent in the fact that when two discs are secured together in abutting relation with an intermediate cavity or air space between them the construction results in a rapid vibration of'the disc when the wheel is passing over a more or less u neven road. This vibration of the disc sets the air between them in rapid vibration, with the result that a noise is produced known in the trade as drumming. This noise becomes very appreciable when the road is rough and the car is moving at high s )eed and is disagreeable and undesirable.

owever. in practically every disc wheel made as described. drumming is common.

Accordingly. a further object of this in vention is to provide a method of making a disc wheel which will be entirely devoid of any drumming action and noiseless in this res ect.

n carrying out this feature of the invention the space between the two discs of the wheel is adapted to be filled with material for taking up the vibration of the disc, and while this material may vary in substance,

we have found that the best results are oberly chemically treated to prevent deterioration of the wood and to render it unsuscept-ible to changes under atmospheric conditions.

In the preferred manner of building the wheel of this invention, one of the layers of felt is extended circumferentially to lie between the abutting faces of the opposed disc and form a gasket so that when the discs are secured together by rivets or otherwise, rattling between the adjacent faces of the disc is precluded and atightjoin t is formed to keep out the weather.

Further features andobjects of the invention, both as regards the practicin of the method and resulting article, wil be apparent from the foregoing specification the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings we have illustrated one form of apparatus which may be employed in the carrying out of the method of this invention, but it will be understood that this apparatus is illustrative only, and does not define them-limits oii the invention. Figure '1 is atsection of two compleme tary co-operating die members, with whic is associated a blank of material to be ope'r blan F igure 10 is asection of the completed whee a V The steel from which the wheels of this invention are to be formed, is received from themill inlarge sheets which, are in a more or less spotty condition. This term describes the condition wherein certain parts of the steel late are of a certain degree of hardness, w ereas other parts are of entirely different degrees of hardness. This is primarily due to unequal cooling before,-

during and after the rolling operation, re-- sulting from uneven temperatures and drafts around the rolling mill, while the steel is being rolled. -One portion of the plate will be cooled more or less than an other portion and when the cooler portion goes under the rolls it willbe worked to a greater degree than the warmer portion and thus made harder. If it were attemptedto manipulate the material in this condition between the dies, the result would be that the discs produced would; be badly warpedout of shape and the hei'der parts of the steel would either be ruptured or, at least, show surface cracks. -Accordingly, the first or initial operation in the carry ng out of the method consists in. heat treating the material for the purpose of normalizing the same.

The steel used in. the manufacture of the wheel is an alloy steel,- preferably chrome vanadium or, nickel steel, or a high carbon steel. In normalizing this steel the temperature thereof is raised to the normalizing temperature for the particular ,bhemical characteristics of the steel and is maintained at its normalizing temperature for a length of time de ending upon the size and shape of the stee ,as well as on its chemical characteristics, after which it is removed from the heat and packed in lime, sand or any characteristics requIei This tem is generally around 1709 degrees Fa renheit other suitable material -to insure an even cooling. 1

At the conclusion of the normalizing operation, the material is blanked in an OIdlnary press witha. conventional blanking punch and die of the size required to give the desired inner and outer diameters of the disjcsij The blank, from which the main disc islflformed, is shown at A in Figure 1. This blank is of. flat, circular shape and, having been normalized, is inthe relatively soft,

ductile and. malleable condition to be properly worked upon by die sections 1 and 2 for manipulating it. into the desired shape.

The die sections land 2 are complementary and are operated by suitable well known ma chinery to force them' toward one another and to press and work-the-blank A into conformity with the complementary sections of the die As a result of this operation the blank A", after coming from the die sections l 8.11512, partakes of the configuration shown in 1 forme into the main disc A of the wheel, with the outer circumference of which is integrally formed a portion of the felly of the wheel. The next operation is to stamp out the hub opening a,

The supplemental or reinforcin the wheel is formed from a blank disc of blank, after the normalizlng process, be

tween dies 3 and 4. Thedies 3 and 4 press the blank B into the shape shown in Figu'r'e-fiand the hub openin b is thereafter punched in the center of t e supplemental disc, so that the resulti supplemental o'r reinforcing disc B shown m F1gure,4 is produced. The blank C 'from"which the complementary fell section or ring .0 is formed, is annu er in shape, as shown in Figure 5, and after passing throu h the norma re"'2, said blank A having been shown in Figure 3, by the manipulation of this izing process is manipulated 'y thedi e 1 sections 5 and 6 to produce the detachable felly section C shown'in Fi re 6. i

It will, of course, be understood that,in practice, the blanks for the respective parts of the wheel are stamped out m quantities from sheetsteel, which has been previously normalized and the respective blanks are subsequently transferred to the corresponding machines to be manipulated into the desired shapes.

arts of the wheel into' the desired f After the respective have been manipulate shapes, "such bolt and rivet holes, as are required, are punched out and thereafter the parts of the wheel are subjected to a heat treatment which consists in raising their temperatures ,to such de ree as is necessary to allow of the 'uenc'hmg of the steel in order to obtain t e strength and physical rature for alloy steel and some where around 1600 degrees Fahrenheit for carbon steel. The parts are placed in'a 'furnace'capable of retaining its temperature and are maintained at such degree of heat for the required length of time to bring the steel above the critical point, after which the steel is quenched, in a suitable quenching medium, depending upon the chemical constituents of the steel.

' In practice, the quenching medium may be mineral oil, fish oil, water, brine, or any other suitable material, or any combination ofthose enumerated. In practice, it is found to be in many instances impractical to simplyjmmerse the parts in the quenching medium, so that it is found preferable, the instant before quenching, to clamp the part to be quenched into a rigid die of the shape and size required to grip it on all sides. While thus maintained in the rigid grip of the die, the parts are quenched and it is found, that when this the parts will maintain the shapes into which the have been manipulated by the forming ies. If the quenching dies are not employed there is a great tendency for the parts to Warp and twist.

After the parts have cooled to approximately 200 degrees F. in the quenchin medium,they are removed from said me ium,

and after being placed in a wire rack or basket, are dropped into a tempering bath. The temperature at which this bath will be maintained, and the constituents of the bath are determined by thechemical constituents of the steel to be tempered. For an alloy steel, mineral oil having a high flash point might be used, although a salt'bath embodying potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate is found highly efiicient. For carbon steel heavy cylinder oil works out very well as a temperingmedium. It will be understood, however, that the particular tempering mediums referred to are not exclusive, but are simply enumerated by way of explanation.

After the wheel sections have been maintained in the temperin bath for the correct length of time to lnsure an even tem pering throughout the material thereof, they :are removed from the bath and allowed to cool ihthe air. When cool they are ready for assembling. The parts are assembled as shown in Figure 7, the main disc A and supplemental disc B being preferably secured together. l2 bolts or rivets D, while the main disc maybe provided with suitable fastening bolts .or studs after the manner shown in our co-pendiing application Serial No. 319,129 filed August 22, 1919, forithe urpose of holding the detachable section (l of the felly in co-operative relation to the permanent portion of thefelly forming a part of the main disc. The wheel may be provided'with a suitable hub (not shown) or may be simply, provided with bolt holes through w ich. bolts may be ractice is followed,

- has, for its function the imparting of radial resiliency to the wheel, after the manner more fully described in the co-pending application Serial No. 319,091 filed August 22nd, 1919.

In carrying out the process of this invention with the dies as shown in the drawings, a wheel structure results which is illustrated in Figure 7, but it will be understood that through the change in shape of the dies, different wheel structures may be formed without departing from the spirit of this invention. The invention does not relate to specific details of the wheel construction, but to the wheel broadlyand to the method of making the same. This method consists, speaking generally, in operating upon normalized steel blanks of alloy or high carbon steel, and after the parts have been properly formed in this condition, hardening and tempering said parts. The prior well known methods of making disc wheels, all contemplate the use of mild steel without any heat treatment whatsoever, but when the present method'is employed a much superior and lighter wheel results. For concrete example, actual tests have shown that the steel employed' in prior wheels, when tested, had a breaking tensile strength of about 64,000 pounds per square inch, whereas the same tests applied to steel treated in accordance with the present invention showed that the steel failed at about 155,000 pounds per square inch, or in other words, that the alloy steel wheel of this invention possesses 254) percent of the strength of the old and well known form of wheel. Moreover, mild steel wheels are generally made of approximately three-sixteenths of an inch stock, whereas the steel of this invention, in order to possess a requisite strength need be made of only one-half that thickness of material. As a comparison between the old and well known form of disc wheels and the wheel of this invention, it is interesting to note that of two wheels possessing the same strength the wheel of the present invention weighs but approximately one-third that of the former wheel. An'other important commercial consideration resides in the fact that wheels made from mild steel are nonresilient, and more or less dead',,while an alloy steel wheel formed as described, possessesmarked resiliency and springy characteristics. Furthermore, the stamping of annular bosses in a mild steel wheel is impractical but is highly practical and advantageous in a resilient steel wheel made in accordance with our method.

In practicing the method as thus far described a wheel results which embodies two opposed discs with an intermediate air space, and while this wheel. possesses all requirements of strength and durability, it is, in a measure, open to the objection that where an air space is housed between two disc portions drumming action is very apt to occur when the wheel is traveling rapidly over an uneven road. Accordingly, in its best form the wheel is so constructed that the space between the two opiposed discs is filled or occupied by a sound-dampening medium intended to take up the vibration of the discs, and, in a great measure to preclude such vibration, to the end that the wheel may be silent under all conditions. The material employed in filling the space in the wheel may differ in substance, but the best results thus far obtained has been through the employment of a laminated structure formed of alternate plies of felt and balsa wood. It is desirable that this laminated structure be packed tightly inthe space between the discs and in Figures 8 to 10 inclusive of the drawings we have shown the consecutive steps of carrying out the method whereby the packing may be properly formed and compressed into a-sha-pe to cooperate with the discs, whereby the entire wheel may be assembled in an efficient and expeditious manner. In forming the packing a plurality of layers or plies of alternate felt e and balsa wood f is built up to form a blank after the manner shownin Figure 8, and these consecutive plies or layers are preferably, though not essentially, glued or otherwise adhesivcly secured together to form a substantially homogeneous structure. As shown, the blank is formed from five plies although, manifestly, any number of plies may be employed depending upon the size of the wheel and its thickness through at the hub portion, as well as the thickness of the respective plies. The center ply is preferably made of felt and is of a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the reenforcing disc B, while the remaining plies are made of a lesser diameter equal to the dished portions in the discs B and A.

The blank formed as described, is positioned between apair of cooperating die' members 9 and 10, operated upon through suitable pressure mechanism to bring the sections of the die together and compress the blank into the form shown in Figure 9, which is the form of the cavity between the opposed discs of the wheel. After the blank has been pressed to the form shown in Figure 9, a central hole g is punched out forthe hub and at the same time additional holes 9 are forced through the blank for the bolts which hold the hub to the wheel. When a wheel is to be constructed to embody the packing member just described, the formation of the metallic parts of the wheel is carried out as shbwn .in Figures to 6, but instead of proceeding to assemble as shown in Figure 7, the packing member is assembled between discs A and B after the manner shown in Figure 10, but it will be noted from this figure that the center ply of the packing member, because of its increased diameter, will extend between the abutting faces of the discs A and B and form a gasket of relatively soft material so that when the rivets or bolts D are put in the discs will not en gage with one another, metaLto-metal, but will be cushioned with respect to one another. The riveting of the discs together, will, moreover cause the felt gasket tobe compressed with the result that a tight weather-proof joint will be formed at the outer circumference of the reenforcing disc B.

The foregoing method of forming and incorporating the. filler blank in the wheel is extremely simple and economical to carry out, and the compressing of 'the blank is conducive to the best results in-properly fitting the blank to the space between the discs. In describing this method we have specifically recommended the employment of balsa wood-and felt plies, but do not wish to be understood. as limiting to this material. We employ them because they are relatively hard and soft, and because balsa wood is very light, and tenacious and when treated chemically is not susceptible to changes under atmospheric conditions. In carrying out the invention, however, other relatively hard and soft materials may be employed, or even material of uniform hardness may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention, which is to be understood as broadly novel as is commensurate with the appended claims.

Having thus fully described the invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The method of making a disc wheel which consists in manipulating blanks of normalized alloy steel between dies to impart the desired shape thereto, thereafter hardening and tempering the resulting parts and assembling them to form the wheel.

2. The method of making a steel wheel which consists in normalizing sheet alloy. steel, cutting said steel-into blanks, effecting the shaping of the blanks between dies, hardening and tempering the resulting forms and finally assembling them.

3. The method of making a disc wheel which consists. in manipulatin blanks of normalized alloy steel between dies to impart the desired shape thereto, thereafter hardenmetal to form complementary discs, com-' a portion of the contour of each disc, and

assembling the parts with the non-metallic part between the metallic parts.

5. The method of making a disc wheel, which consists in manipulating blanks. of

pressing a laminated non-metallic blank to conform to complementary portions of the contour of the discs, and thereafter assembling the parts with the non-metallic part intermediate the metallic discs.

6. The method of making a disc wheel which consists in manipulating metallic blanks to form complementary discs, compressing a non-metallic laminated blank of alternate relatively hard and relatively soft materials into a form complementary to complementary portions of the discs, and thereafter assembling the parts with a nonmetallic part intermediate the metallic discs.

7.. The method of making a disc wheel which consists in manipulating metallic blanks to form complementary discs, compressing a non-metallic laminated blank of alternate layers of felt and wood into a shape to completely fill the space between the complementary portions of the discs when in assembled relation, and thereafter assembling the arts with the non-metallic laminated part intermediate, and filling the space between the discs.

8. The method of makin a disc wheel which consists in manipu ating metallic blanks to form complementary discs, compressing a non-metallic laminated blank into a'shape adapted to fill the space between said discs when in assembled relation, and leaving one of the plies of the laminated blank of sufiicient size to project circumferentially of said space, and thereafter assembling the parts with the laminated non-metallic part filling the space between the discs of the wheel and the single ply projecting to form 3 gaSl(t between the abutting faces of the 1scs;

. 9. The method of making a disc wheel which consists in manipulating a flat blank of alloy steel between dies to form said blank into the main disc of the wheel and to form a portion of the telly of the wheel integral with the main disc, then heat treating the disc thus formed to harden and temper the same, manipulating another flat blank of steel to form a reenforcing disc of smaller size than the main disc, then heat treating the reinforcing disc thus formed to harden and temper the same, and thereafter assembling the discs in complementaryco-axial relation.

10. The method of making a disc wheel which consists in manipulating a flat blank between. dies to form said blank into the maindisc of the wheel and to form a portion of the felly of the wheel integralwith the main disc, manipulating another flat blank of alloy steel to form a reenforcing disc of smaller size than the main disc, and thereafter assembling the discs in complementary co-axial relation, filling the space between the discs with a non-metallic material previously compressed to the shape of the space to be filled.

11. The method of making a steel wheel which consists in manipulating blanks of alloy steel into cooperating shapes between dies, thereafter heat treating the blanks thus shaped to render them resilient, and finally assembling the parts thus produced.

12. The method of making a steel wheel which consists in cutting a sheet of alloy steel into blanks, effecting a shaping of the blanks between dies, hardening and tempering the resulting forms, and finally assembling them.

In testimony whereof, we sign our names to this specification.

DAVID H. BELLAMORE! THOMAS I. s. BOAK. 

